Floris Kaayk wins Art+Technology Award 2017

Dutch digital artist Floris Kaayk (1982) is the winner of this year’s Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award. Floris Kaayk (born in 1982 in Tiel, The Netherlands) is receiving the prize for his entire oeuvre. He graduated cum laude from the animation department of AKV | St. Joost School of Fine Art and Design in Breda, and gained a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam.

Kaayk is a master in creating futuristic fairy tales and nightmares, which often engage a wide audience thanks to his inventive use of various digital platforms. Through his work, he encourages people to reflect on technological developments and their possible consequences. Witteveen+Bos presented the Award on 2 November 2017 in the Bergkerk Church in Deventer, the Netherlands, where Floris Kaayk also opened a retrospective exhibition of his projects. The Art+Technology Award consists of a cash prize of € 15,000, a publication on the winning artist’s oeuvre, and a month-long exhibition.

The jury is full of praise for Kaayk’s work: ‘He balances precariously between science fact and science fiction, confronting his audience with their own credulity, fears and limitations, while also revealing the political and societal implications of our common ambitions for the future.’ By presenting the Art+Technology Award to Floris Kaayk, the jury is for the first time honouring an artist who actively uses the internet and social media as essential elements in his work.